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Necessity of gang injunctions questioned at Oxnard commission meeting

More than a decade after Ventura County authorities linked a slew of violent incidents to Oxnard’s largest street gang to make a case for a civil restraining order against the group, it’s unclear whether the injunction has been effective.

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Oxnard Police Chief Scott Whitney addresses the city's community relations commission during a meeting Monday night about the future of gang injunctions in the city.(Photo: MEGAN DISKIN/THE STAR)Buy Photo

Questions about the necessity of the Oxnard gang injunctions to ensure public safety arose Monday night as the community relations commission, activists and police discussed their future in the city.

About 30 people attended a regular meeting of the seven-person commission to hear presentations from community activist group Chiques Organizing for Rights and Equality (CORE) and the Oxnard Police Department’s top brass.

The council instead thought it was time have a “global conversation” about the gang injunctions, said Assistant Police Chief Eric Sonstegard during his presentation. The City Council is on its summer break, but the commission advises the council on matters that can better relationships with the public.

The gang injunctions, which are civil court orders restricting certain behaviors of alleged members from the city’s two largest street gangs, came into question after recent court rulings. The legal decisions stated that constitutional rights of those served with the order had been violated when they were not given a chance to challenge their alleged gang membership.

“We have a multi-generational gang issue in this city. We just do. It’s irrefutable,” Sonstegard said.

Oxnard secured injunctions against the Colonia Chiques and Southside Chiques in 2004 and 2005. It has been practice for police to compile a “gang packet” — material police say shows on individual’s membership — on a person and then decide whether to enjoin them.

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Assistant Police Chief Eric Sonstegard addresses the Oxnard Community Relations Commission during a meeting about the future of gang injunctions in the city.(Photo: MEGAN DISKIN/THE STAR)

The process has been criticized by CORE members Armando Vazquez and others, a trend that continued Monday night. Those same critics have also said the injunctions unfairly target minorities.

Oxnard College professor Deborah DeVries, a CORE member who initially fought the injunctions, presented an early article she wrote stating that a primary concern was the due-process violations.

The court decisions initially prompted police in April 2017 to send letters to those listed on the injunctions informing them of their right to challenge their inclusion. Only a few responded and those challenges continue to be fought in Ventura County Superior Court.

Sonstegard said the idea actually came from one of the recent court decisions that opined a “robust” administrative process would suffice.

Francisco Romero, a CORE activist and Oxnard native, said that at a proposed rate of 40 hearings a year and with 368 people served with the injunctions, this process would take about nine years. It would cost taxpayer money, he said, and if the city were sued over the hearings, more taxpayer money would be at play.

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Community activist Francisco Romero addresses the Oxnard Community Relations Commission during Monday's meeting about the future of gang injunctions in the city.(Photo: MEGAN DISKIN/THE STAR)

The conversations ultimately delved into whether the gang injunctions are still necessary or wanted in the community, which some activists and commissioners referred to as a “black mark” in the city’s history. There was also concern from commissioners about juveniles on the injunction and whether they should be included or treated differently.

There are only three juveniles on the injunctions, according to Sonstegard.

Police, critics and commissioners said throughout the meeting that all sides were willing to start an open dialogue to listen to each side’s concerns and find some sort of solution.

“I have zero interest in imposing something on a community when it doesn’t want it,” said Police Chief Scott Whitney.

Vazquez applauded the opportunity to discuss the injunctions, something he and others in CORE have been fighting for since the beginning. Previously, the lack of knowledge made them react using their gut and emotions, but Vazquez said Monday’s presentation was about constitutional rights.

There seemed to be a general consensus regarding putting more resources toward community-based programs for youths. One speaker during public comment also suggested offering guidance to parents about at-risk youths and strategies for talking with their child.

The question of whether the injunctions are necessary was still up for debate.

There was a call from attorney Barbara Macri-Ortiz for more data and to not rely on figures of gang crime from 2004.

Whitney said he recently watched a video of a gang-related assault outside Little Ceasars Pizza, 1450 Doris Ave. The assault involved two lines of gang members going opposite directions in the parking lot and after five to 10 seconds, a knife came out. Four people were stabbed.

In his presentation, Sonstegard said the injunctions were brought on by record highs of gang assaults and gang-related homicides from 2001 to 2005. Since 2001, there have been 120 homicides in the city in which either the suspect or victim was a gang member.

There have been 11 homicides in the city this year, Sonstegard said, and in nine of them, either the victim or the suspect was a gang member. He said the injunctions are also there to help keep gang members from becoming victims.

“I’ll tell you from someone who’s tasked with keeping the community safe, I think we do need it. It’s not the golden ticket. It’s just one of a lot of things. I certainly don’t like to see something taken away if it’s impacting our violent crime,” Sonstegard said.